Milk and Honey Bread Recipe

A soft and tender sandwich bread made with milk and honey. This recipe will consistently give you a soft and tender, slightly sweet loaf that is perfect for sandwiches. This one is my kids’ favorite bread recipes.

If you are interested in making homemade bread but feeling a bit intimidated, this recipe is a great place to start. The milk and honey make it rich and sweet, making this bread irresistible (and still easy to make).

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

You should have all you need in your pantry already. If you need to buy some yeast, I’ve linked my favorite down below.

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This is a great recipe to double or triple, and freeze for later. You can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, and it will adjust the measurements for you.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup milk (add a few more tablespoons if necessary)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast (SAF brand is the best and can be purchased in bulk and frozen)
• Non-stick cooking spray

Tools

• A “standard-sized” loaf pan: 8 1/2 inches x 4 1/2 inches x 2 1/2 inches. (Goldtouch brand is my favorite.)
• A stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or a basic bread machine. (I love this model, which is affordable and mixes and rises the dough beautifully.)
• A pastry brush for brushing the top of the loaf with milk.

How to Make Milk And Honey Bread

Step One: Make the Dough

There is no need to be fussy about combining the ingredients, especially when you are using instant yeast. Just toss everything in together and mix. If you are using a bread machine, just hit the dough cycle. Keep an eye on the dough for a while. You are looking for dough that stays as a ball. It should not be so dry that it won’t come together, but it should also not be so wet that it sticks to the sides of the bowl. If it seems off, just add a bit more flour or milk as needed.

Step Two: Knead

Once the consistency is right, start kneading. I recommend ten minutes of kneading in the stand mixer, with short breaks every few minutes so you don’t burn out the motor.

To check for readiness in the dough, take a golf ball-sized ball of dough and attempt to stretch it out. If it tears easily, the dough is not ready. If translucent “windows” appear in the dough, it’s ready to go!

Step Three: Rise

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl to rise. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel or greased plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise. The best temperature for bread rising is about 80-90 degrees. If you don’t have a suitable place, turn your oven on for a minute or two, turn it off, and place the dough inside. After an hour or so, check on your dough. It should be very puffy and have doubled in size.

Step Four: Shape

Now we shape! Lay your loaf pan on the counter and use it to help guide you. You want to gently stretch the dough out into a rectangle when the short side of the rectangle is the same length as the long side of the loaf pan. Tuck in the top two corners and start rolling down. “Shoulder in, head down.”

Tuck the sides under and pinch the seams the best you can to close. Don’t get upset if this doesn’t go perfectly. Your loaf will still be fine!

Step Five: Final Rise

Spray your loaf pan with non-stick spray and gently place the loaf of bread inside. Cover it with heavily sprayed plastic wrap and put it back in a warm spot to rise again. This rise will be around 45-60 minutes, until the loaf is an inch over the top of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the center. Brush the top with milk if you want a beautifully browned crust.

Step Six: Bake

Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. When you take it out of the oven, feel free to brush it with melted butter to help it shine.

Remove the bread from the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool for at least an hour or two before slicing.

Storage Instructions

Homemade bread in general only keeps for a few days at room temperature. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or a bread bag for up to 2 days on the counter.

However, it freezes very well if cooled completely and stored properly. Slice it and freeze in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw slices as needed.

What to Serve with Milk And Honey Bread

• This makes excellent sandwiches for lunch, especially a grilled cheese.
• Toast it in the morning and spread it with some homemade butter or raspberry jam.
• Use it for French toast, like this orange French toast version.
• Serve some slices on the side with crockpot ham and bean soup.

Questions and Troubleshooting

More Sandwich Bread Recipes

• Sourdough sandwich bread is soft and tender as well.
• If you like whole wheat bread, this oatmeal bread recipe uses whole grains and brown sugar.
• Cinnamon swirls are always a good choice. Try this cinnamon swirl sourdough loaf, or just use the filling technique with this recipe.

Printable Recipe